Improved folding chair



' figg-uiten gisten steitt @fitta H.V s. GoLienrnY AND o. s. rwiro'Hn-LL, `or New HAVEN, ooNrntorIoUr.A

Letters Patent No. ,74,9'10, date'rZ February 25, 1868,

IMPROVED FOLDING CHAIR.

T0 WHOM I'l MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that we, S. GoLIGnTLY and C.I S. TwrrcnnLL, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FoldingChail-s; and we hereby declare' the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accom panying drawings. l i i i Our invention relates to the arrangement of the baclg, and to the method of fastening the seat of a selfadjusting chair so as to conform to the position of the back of the person sitting `in the chair; and secondly, to so combine the seat with the frontend back legs, of which thechair is composed, that the whole may be folded up` neatly and compactly when not in use. i t

To this end our invention'conslists of, first, al chair, in which the back iswhung upon pivots, or in an equivalent manner, so that it may adjust itself.` to the back of the lperson,occii'pying the chair, as hereinafter specified; second, in the combination with the back legs and seat, whether rigid or flexible, of a folding chair, of the front legs anda back pivoted or hung between the ends ofthe front legs, which extendv above the seat, as hereinafter described. I

` 'lo enable lothers to understand and use our invention, we will now proceed to describe the manner in which hessame isV or'may'he carried into eiiect, bysrei'er'ence to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view bf' our improved chair unfolded,iand in an upright `position,iready for use; t 0 I l Figure@ is a like'view of'the chair, unfolded, but tipped over on one4 side, so as to show the devices under the seat for( fastening the 4same to the legs. i

Figure 3 is a like view of the chair folded up.

A A are th'e back legs, and'B B the front legsvof Ythe chair, hinged or pivotedV together, as usual, at a, the legs Bbeing exterior to .the legi; A. To the top round, of the latter, which constitutes thefront round of the chair, is hinged thc front part ofthe seat C,`by means of straps, c, applied to the-bottom seat, as shown in fig. 2. On the under side, and near the rear of the seat, is a hook or equivalent catch or fastening-device, d, which, when the clair is unfolded, is caught over a round,f, extending between the front legs B, at about the height required for the seat. The upper ends, B-, of the-front legs entend a suitable distance above the seat, so as to obtain the required height fo,r t he back, and between these ends or uprights B the oval back D is hung on pivots g, upon which it is capable of swinging so :xs to adjust itself to the back ofthe person leaning against it, and it will be more or less tilted or inclined, according to the position assumed by the occupant rof the chair. Conning attentionto this position of the chair, it will be seen that theiback, D, may be variously' shaped, and arranged in many diii'erent ways, without` departing from the principle vof our invention. When the chair is folded, the back, D, is turned so as to lie between and in the plane ofthe two uprights B B', and takes up little room. By referring to the construction ofzthe seat and seat-fastenings with the legs, it will be seen tha-t when the hook or other suitable fastcningdevice, on the rear and inside of the seat, is caught upon the round,f, it not only holds the seat' in its proper relations tothe legs, bnt maint'ains the latter in position, and prevents them fromspreading, and, at the saine time, supports the. back., This' is a simple and at the same time effective arrangement of the fastening-devices ,'andadmits ofthe construction of the chair beingY simpliied in many Vrespets. i i In order to fold up the chair, the hook is removed from the back round, and the back legs are then turned 'so 'as to bring theii` lower ends'up against `the said round. The seat, turning on its hinges, will now be brought `up against the upper ends ofthe back legs,'and will take the pcsitionshown in tig. the whole 'chair being thus folded togethery neatly and compaetly. y

Having now described our invention, andthe manner in which the same is or may be 4ntarriecl into eiect, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is t l 1. A cross-legged folding chair, in which the back is hung upon pivots, or in an equivalent manner, so that it may move or swing independently of the seat and frame,1to adjust itself to the back ofthe person occupying the chair, substautiallyras herein shown'and described.

2. 'The combinatio'nivth the back-legs and the seat, Whether rigid or flexible, of'afolding chfalgofthe front legs and baek,'pvoted or hung between the ends of said legs, which extendebovev the seat so'as to-sw'ng or move independently ofl the sont and legs, substantially in the manner anfl for the' purposes herein shown and specied. I Y v 'In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specifica-tion before two sbscribing witnesses.

H. S. GOLIGHTLY, Y C. S. TWITCHELL. Witnesses; v v

D. E. MERCLMM',v JoHN 5M. WHXTNEY. 

